“I’ll have to bring the ship home after I’ve done with you,” retorted the mate as he passed up on deck with his wife.
During the afternoon the couples exchanged not a word, though the two husbands exchanged glances of fiery import, and later on, their spouses being below, gradually drew near to each other. The mate, however, had been thinking, and as they came together met his foe with a pleasant smile.
“Bravo, old man,” he said heartily.
“What d’yer mean?” demanded the skipper in gruff astonishment.
“I mean the way you pretended to row me,” said the mate. “Splendid you did it. I tried to back you up, but lor! I wasn’t in it with you.”
“What, d’yer mean to say you didn’t mean what you said?” inquired the other.
“Why, o’ course,” said the mate with an appearance of great surprise. “You didn’t, did you?”
“No,” said the skipper, swallowing something in his throat. “No, o’ course not. But you did it well too, George. Uncommon well, you did.”
“Not half so well as you did,” said the mate. “Well, I s’pose we’ve got to keep it up now.”
“I s’pose so,” said the skipper; “but we mustn’t keep it up on the same things, George. Swallerin’ knives an’ that sort o’ thing, I mean.”